2019 Clubs Season Graded
24 Oct 2019
Castleford Tigers (B)
A tough season for Daryl Powell’s men, they made the 2019 Super League Play-Offs, but were inconsistent throughout the season, not helped by amount of injuries they suffered.
Luke Gale didn’t play a single game all season after rupturing his Achilles in the pre-season, but with young half-back Jake Trueman already stepping up in the 2018 season, it was up to him to show his class again this season.
Liam Watts was one of the best players in Super League and Castleford’s key performer as the big forward played plenty of minutes, making more offloads than any other player, over 3000 metres, and 937 tackles as he was on the shortlist for the 2019 Man of Steel award.
100% tackle success 💯
More tackles than any other England player 💪@CTRLFC's @WATTSY7890 taking that Super League form to the International stage 🔥 #RLWC9s pic.twitter.com/NzIAAF2FNP
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) October 18, 2019
Catalans Dragons (C)
Catalans Dragons season started with a lot of hope, the signing of Sam Tomkins and their 2018 Challenge Cup victory gave the people of Perpignan a lot to look forward to, and for some of the season Catalans lived up to the hype.
Their loss to Salford Red Devils at the Stade Gilbert Brutus should have had question marks pinging around in the fans’ heads as well as Catalans’ staff but they were still in with a shot of making the play-offs…
However, a dismal run saw them with no chance of reaching the play-offs on the last day, and Catalans looked to given up any hope. One of the positives from Catalans’ season was the emerging French talent coming through the ranks, and their performances at Camp Nou.
Huddersfield Giants (C-)
Huddersfield Giants would have expected a better season than they had in 2019 after their performances in 2018 under the guidance of Simon Woolford.
However, they were one of the teams dragged into the relegation battle as Woolford struggled to turn his team’s season around, even after their emphatic display at Magic Weekend when they hammered Hull FC, 55-2.
Their 2019 signings included NRL duo, Akuila Uate and Matt Frawley, but they were kept out of the squad throughout the season and made no significant impact that could see Giants challenging for the top half.
Hull FC (B-)
Lee Radford’s men had an inconsistent season, producing some magical displays and then polar opposite performances, in losses to Huddersfield at Magic Weekend and against Warrington.
It looked as though they would be one of the candidates to reach the play-offs, but a few losses and a crucial loss in a must-win tie against Castleford saw FC drop out of the mix.
The Fijian Flyer! 🇫🇯 🤩
The signing of the season? 🤔🤷??♂??
⚫??⚪?? @hullfcofficial #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/rADDGVnzBm
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) October 16, 2019
Hull KR (C)
Another of the four teams involved in the relegation battle on Friday 13th, KR lost that day against Salford, but a Wakefield win meant Hull KR stayed up.
They started the season in the most dramatic of fashion, a last-minute derby day winner by Jimmy Keinhorst gave Tim Sheens’ men the two points.
However, Sheens left the club fighting for survival and former Warrington coach, Tony Smith took over and just about guided the club to safety.
Leeds Rhinos (C)
A new coach and some new signings at Leeds Rhinos bought a new hope, but the hope wasn’t long-lived as they battled for survival throughout the season.
Konrad Hurrell, Tui Lolohea and Trent Merrin all signed with plenty of pedigree after their performances on the international stage and in the NRL, but they couldn’t halt Rhinos’ downfall.
Hurrell and Merrin were some of the positives for Leeds, but the man that signed the two for the club, Dave Furner would eventually get sacked, and Richard Agar would take the reign until the end of the season.
The appointment of Agar seemed to steady the ship at Leeds a little bit, he acquired Robert Lui from Salford, sending pre-season signing Tui Lolohea the opposite way, and they did enough to guarantee their safety before the last round.
London Broncos (C+)
A tough one to grade but London Broncos deserve all the plaudits for taking the relegation battle right down to the wire. Danny Ward’s men played with no fear all the way throughout the season and their work ethic was second to none.
London were one of only two teams to beat the 2019 Champions, St Helens, they beat them twice at the Trailfinders Sports Club, proving their value to the competition.
They were eventually relegated on the last day of the season, and it’s tough to score London higher than a C+, but who’d have thought on the last day of the season they would have been two points away from survival.
Salford Red Devils (A+)
Salford Red Devils nearly did the impossible, a true underdog story, Ian Watson’s men were 80 minutes away from lifting the Grand Final trophy.
At the start of the season, Salford were tipped to finish no higher than tenth place, and no chance of reaching the play-offs, never mind the Grand Final.
Watson made some astute signings in the off-season in Jackson Hastings and Joey Lussick, Hastings would go on to win the 2019 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel award. While, Krisnan Inu joined the club during the season, his boot and experience guided them to the final.
The A+ should have just been saved for St Helens, but Watson’s men defied expectations and were definitely the story of the season.
2019 @Betfred Super League Big Hits 😰
WARNING ⚠?? Not for the faint-hearted! #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/P8AS8iQAwq
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) October 16, 2019
St Helens (A+)
It was the perfect ending for St Helens’ coach, Justin Holbrook, a League Leaders’ Shield and the 2019 Grand Final Champions.
Saints were the team to beat from the get-go, they went the whole season unbeaten at the Totally Wicked Stadium, and only lost three games all season; two away at London and a loss in Perpignan to Catalans.
Holbrook’s men also set a new record for the number of points a title has been won by after they finished the season 16 points ahead of second-placed Wigan Warriors.
Wakefield Trinity (C)
Wakefield Trinity were rocked by injuries to key players, which further highlighted the importance of their biggest stars, a good start to the season saw them fighting for the play-offs.
Tom Johnstone tore his cruciate ligaments early in the season, and Bill Tupou was out for three months with a groin injury. Their loss to Catalans at Magic Weekend and the injury to talisman forward David Fifita coincided with their loss in form.
Chris Chester’s men were one of four teams that were involved in the relegation scrap on the last day of the season, their win against London kept them in Super League for another year and doomed Broncos to relegation.
Warrington Wolves (B-)
There was a lot of hype coming from Warrington, a Grand Final appearance in 2018, and then the off-season signing of Blake Austin meant that they would be one of the favourites to lift the 2019 Grand Final.
A good start to the season saw them battling with Saints for the top, however, Saints’ consistent performances saw them start to pull away from the Wire midway through the season.
Steve Price’s men picked up the 2019 Challenge Cup trophy, however that came at a cost, they finished fourth, which meant they would play in the Eliminator Game as the out of form play-off side. They lost to Castleford, ending their season sooner than they had hoped.
Wigan Warriors (A-)
Wigan Warriors’ 2019 season was always going to be a tough transitional season, with Shaun Wane leaving the club, and then forwards Ryan Sutton and John Bateman heading to Canberra Raiders after their 2018 Grand Final win.
To make matters worse Wigan would start the season on -2 points due to a salary cap breach, and only win three games in the first eleven rounds.
Wigan had appointed former player Adrian Lam as their head coach for the 2019 season with Shaun Edwards set to take the role on a permanent basis in 2020, that saga led to Edwards not actually taking the job and then Lam was announced as the permanent coach…eventually.
A tough start to the season tested Wigan’s character, their new coaches’ character, and their up and coming youngsters’ character who were thrown in at the deep end. They turned their season around, and ended up finishing second in the league, before losing to Salford Red Devils in the semi-final to miss out on the 2019 Grand Final.
